John Ford's 1953 remake of Red Dust lies far from his field of personal
interest--in Africa, in fact--but it is a creditable sex and safari yarn. Ava
Gardner more than holds her own against Jean Harlow's original performance,
lending her dusky energy to a tritely conceived part: she's the international
call girl who falls for the great white hunter (Clark Gable, far more
interesting than he was in the first version). As the temptingly pure and
fragile Englishwoman, Grace Kelly was closer to Ford's sympathy and
understanding, but Gardner walks off with the movie and the man. Oddly, the
studio scenes are more atmospheric than the location shots.

In
a strange move, Warner Home Video released 2 John Ford lesser titles
exclusively to Target stores in U.S. Both titles have been available in
Europe (U.K., Germany) and Australia since July 2004 and copyright of
the new DVDs confirm they were made in 2004. Most likely, they will be
released to other stores later in 2006 with upcoming Clark Gable
Signature Boxset. The
un-restored image is rather good, but with some damage (capture 3 for 3
Godfathers, capture 4 for Mogambo). The only extra on each disc is a
theatrical trailer.